Black Pudding Produce @ Foodscapes in Lake City

Here is a photo of my new produce display at Foodscapes in Lake City, SC. Stop by and pick up some fresh local produce if you are in the area. Baby Bell Peppers, Round de Nice Squash, Sweet Yellow Onions, Garlic, Scallopini Squash, and Bush Baby Zucchini are available there now!

California Trip -- 5.18.10 (Day 2)

7:30 Breakfast and on the road to UC Santa Cruz Farm Research Station

The farm was great. Everything looked excellent. There appeared to be no weeds or insects and the temperature was so mild that they were still planting brassicas in May.









Also, on the campus there is a smaller 2 acre garden (The Chadwick Garden) that is a display vegetable garden, that is on a steep incline and terraced. Every inch of the garden was used for something it seemed. And there must have been 15 people working in this small space doing everything from weeding and hauling debris out in wheel barrows to pruning fruit trees and planting.










These two visits took up about half the day. Next we went into San Francisco.

California Trip-- 5.17.10 (Day 1)

5:30 am departure from Florence, SC airport
11:00 am arrival at Los Angeles, CA airport

Once in LA we rented a car and started driving up the coast on US 1. Our goal was to make it to Santa Cruz by dark, but making good time on US 1 is hard. There is so much to look at and so many sharp curves.

The entire day there was a heavy mist and all the plants seemed like they really wanted to grow with or without the help people. A little different from growing things in the south, where the plants seem to need our help.












And there were elephant seals. Many elephant seals. Mainly female.







We made it as far as Watsonville, CA. Approx. 22 from Santa Cruz and a measly 353 miles of driving on our first day.

California

We made it to California yesterday, the internet connection at this particular McDonalds isn't allowing me to post pictures.

I will update on everything tonight when we arrive in Santa Barbara.

Biochar in action

A couple weeks ago I sat in on a meeting with Joe James of Agritech and a group of USDA researchers to learn about biochar and its potential as a agricultural additive. Joe James and his company are working on commercializing a torrefaction machine created by NC State. His unit is expected to produce large quantities of biochar in a very short amount of time very efficiently.

I'm not quite ready to invest in this scale of biochar production, but I do want to try my hand at creating some of my own to play around with. With a little web searching I stumbled across this video of a very simple two barrel retort.



For those who want to read further, look at some charts, and graphs here is the link to download the technical article on the "Impact of Biochar Amendment on Fertility of a Southeastern Coastal Plain Soil" produced by Jeffery M. Novak, Warren J. Busscher, David L. Laird, Mohamed Ahmedna, Don W. Watts, and Mohamed A. S. Niandou.

greenhouse activity

So with all this seeding work, I have tricked myself in to feeling like it is already spring, until the mornings remind me that it isn't by sending me rushing back inside for a coat.


Red Express Cabbage


Belstar Broccoli


Spring Raab


All my flats

Crops to plant soon: Carrots, Beets, Radish, Parsnip

turning my compost

I also recently turned my compost pile. Most of the tender green garden waste was broken down. So I guess it is working, but I still haven't seen any steam during these cool mornings.



Maybe some day soon I will spend a day tweaking my compost pile, so I can share a picture of steaming rising from an active pile. Without the heat from an active pile, the composting process is much longer.

Pepper Time!

First week in Feb. is the time to start your pepper seeds indoors.



The varities that I am trying this summer are: Hungarian Hot Wax, Corno di Toro, California Wonder (Green / Red), Golden Wonder (Yellow), Black Beauty (Purple).

potatoes for the formal garden

It is getting close to the time for potatoes! In this part of central South Carolina the recommended planting dates are Feb. 20 - Mar. 10 according to Clemson Extension. Yesterday I spent 30 min cutting up some different types of potatoes for planting in the formal garden. Jenks did me a favor and collected some different varieties for an organic market in Columbia called Rosewood Market.


Klamath Pearl


Russian Banana


French Fingerling


Purple Idaho

Later this week or early next week the potatoes for my farm are coming in for Colorado. I know it's a long way but they ( Potato Garden ) were recommended to me by another grower as a very reliable seed potato source. Plus their shipping rates were much lower than I could find anywhere else. My potato order includes an All Red, All Blue, and a fingerling that I can't recall right now.